Searches futile for missing man feared drowned in Lake Michigan

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OCEANA COUNTY, MI -- Resources available to locate a missing Pentwater-area man, including dive teams and rescue dogs, have been exhausted, and searchers may have to wait on Mother Nature, according to the county sheriff.

Ryan Richard Walsworth, 50, of Mears went missing Feb. 13, and when his truck was found parked next to Lake Michigan in Mason County the next day, authorities feared Walsworth had ended up in the lake.

Numerous searches have been conducted along the lakeshore near Montgomery Boulevard where the truck was found, said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.

Those involved the use of the Oceana County Marine Patrol Boat and divers, Mason County's K-9 unit, three privately-owned airplanes, two helicopters, the Michigan State Police search and dive boat with side-scan sonar, a search dog from West Michigan K-9, four different drones, the Pentwater Fire Department's all-terrain vehicle and "too may volunteer foot searchers to mention," Mast said.

On Feb. 22, Michigan Search and Rescue searched the area with several canine units, he said. Those units included dogs trained in tracking, others in article detection and others that are cadaver dogs, he said. The search and rescue team also brought two drones to search the water from above, Mast said.

"After a lengthy day of searching, we again were unsuccessful in finding anything," Mast said.

Walsworth's credit cards have not been used since he went missing and he had only a small amount of cash on him, leading searchers to believe he didn't leave the area, Mast said. He did not own a cell phone, he said.

"The family says because of the state of mind he was in that that would have been very, very unlikely for him to do," Mast said.

That leaves Mast to believe Walsworth likely took his own life by entering the chilly big lake, though "we all continue to hope for some form of a miracle," he said.

If Walsworth did drown, the cold water conditions mean his body probably is still at the bottom of the lake, but will decompose and surface as temperatures rise, according to information from Michigan Search and Rescue. That's when the organization's dogs might be used on the beach to determine the body's location in the water, according to information Mast shared.

"I am trying to remain in contact with the Walsworth family and will offer support and resources that I can if there arises a new area to look or search," Mast said.